Y is for Yesterday

Title: Y is for Yesterday

Author: Sue Grafton

Narrator: Judy Kaye

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 2017

Format: 14 compact discs, 17 hours

Genre: mystery

Obtained: library

Summary: Kinsey Millhone, a private investigator based in Santa Teresa, California is hired to find out who is blackmailing a family whose son has just been released from jail.  At the same time, Ned Lowe, a sociopath from Kinsey's past is back looking for "trophies" from the women he murdered.

Thoughts: I began to read the Kinsey Millhone series in the eighties.  A is For Alibi was published in 1982, but I started the series later than that.  I loved mysteries and this was my favorite series as a young adult.  Over the years I've read some of these books off and on, but decided I just had to read Y is for Yesterday (#25) in preparation for Z is for Zero which is set to come out in 2019.  It will be the final one.  This is so sad to me!  I feel like Kinsey Millhone has been part of my life.

I listened to this book while walking, folding laundry, and driving.  The narrator brought Kinsey to life, read the story at a good pace, was able to show emotion, and kept me engaged through the whole story.  It made me look forward to some mundane activities.  The tracks were also not way too long like in some books on compact disk, so I could find my place easily when moving the compact disc from device to device.

There was a lot to this book- the murder of a teen girl by her classmates, a rape filmed by some of the same group of teens, a psychopath from a previous case, blackmail, adultery, the privileged and the law.  The book bounces back and forth between the 70's (the murder and sex tape) and the 80's (the blackmail and psychopath).  The time jumps were clear and easy to follow and added suspense.  I'd be getting into the story of one time period, and it switch to the other.  This made me want to keep listening.

The characters in the book were very well developed.  None of the new characters in this book were likeable to me, but they were interesting and quirky.  This is a great strength of this author- bringing her characters to life.  She definitely shows and does not tell throughout the whole book.  I could picture myself right there watching the story unfold.  The plot and mystery were excellent and I love the way the author is able to leave "clues" through the characters behaviors, reactions, and emotions- not just physical clues.  The story is told at a good pace and information is given to the reader a little at a time.

What didn't seem to work in this book was that the author's style of writing is with wit and sarcasm (which is one of the things I love about her writing), but the topics were so dark- rape and teens killing teens.  This was just impossible to balance, so there was a bit of disconnect there.  I liked the lightness and humor in some parts of the story, but it just didn't work around the darker topics.  Also, at times there was too much repetition like the book could have used some more editing.  I felt myself getting annoyed, thinking you've already told me that twice.  This happened a few times.

All in all, Sue Grafton is one of my favorite mystery writers of all times.

 


                                                                 

Company: Adagio Teas

Tea: Tiger Eye

Obtained: purchased








I ordered the Sweet Tooth Sampler from Adagio Teas.  It arrived quickly with no problems and with some free samples, which is always a nice bonus.  The four samples came in a gift box (pictured above), and each sample was in a resealable bag.  The website states that each sample makes 8-10 cups of tea.

Today I tried Tiger Eye which is a black, flavored tea with high caffeine content.  The package was easy to open and I immediately caught a strong scent of chocolate and caramel. The leaves were dark black and crinkly.  I put two teaspoons of leaves in my teapot and poured sixteen ounces of water over the tea.  I let this steep for three minutes.  The dark red liquid had the scent of black tea and chocolate.  The taste was of rich, bold tea with a subtle chocolate and caramel background.  It had a slight sweetness to it.  The combined flavors resulted in a nice balance.  I really enjoyed this tea because it was dessert-like, but not sickly sweet.  I could enjoy this robust tea anytime of the day!